What's So Amazing About Grace?

We all at one point in our lives heard or sang the song "Amazing Grace". "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me", very popular words but what does it all mean? We have used the word "grace" in many different forms but the true meaning of the word is much more powerful and life-changing than what we could ever imagine. If we want to do something or earn something in this life you have to really work for it. Nothing is really ever free and it's not very often that you hear of people receiving something of importance for free, although it does happen from time to time. We say grace before a meal, we want to stay in a person's good graces but is that really the kind of grace that scripture tells us about in our relationship with God? When we took our first breath into this life we were born with a problem, we were born with a sinful nature. This means that we were born with the nature and ability to sin, to go our own way against the law and guidance of God and do what we thought was right in our own eyes. That sin was brought into the world through the actions of Adam and Eve who chose to disobey God's command to not eat from the tree of Knowledge of God and Evil. They chose to go their own way and allowed themselves to be duped into thinking that they could be like God. What is ironic is the one that tempted them, Satan, is the very one who told himself that he could be greater than God and that he would put his own throne above the almighty. Adam and Eve bought into the very thing that made Satan and his angels fall from heaven. Separation happened the moment they disobeyed God and ate of the fruit. Man could never again get to God as he once did. He would no longer walk with God as Adam and Eve had in the garden. Man on his own could never be good enough or earn enough to get closer to God, it wasn't possible because man had chosen to go his own way, even if one would live a seemingly moral life, they still would sin in some form. Romans 6:23 says:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

God was not ok with this situation, He provided a way for us to get back to Him. Some might ask, "why would God let people sin, just take away the option to sin?" This is a valid question but another question must be asked in return, "Why would God not give us the option to choose?" You see a free will is an option that God has given us from the beginning and one that he has given us uniquely out of all of His creation. God didn't want those, who are made after His own image, to be mindless drones, we were made to choose and for relationship. God wants us to choose Him, to have relationship with Him because we want it, not because we are forced into it. Free will is the result of this choice, we have the option to choose God and His ways and the option to choose the opposite. Both have results and consequences but choice is involved for each. This is where grace comes in. Even though we have been given the choice to choose God and His ways or the opposite, Grace still is available for both. Even though we can commit our lives to the good things of God we still have a problem, we aren't perfect. We fall, we sin, we do our own things from time to time which speaks to the separation between man and God. This is why God offers grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see God did not want to stay separated from us, he knew we were going to go our own way, so He gave of Himself through His son Jesus Christ. Jesus was able to live a sinless life, scripture tells us he was perfect in all his ways. This doesn't mean that Jesus doesn't know about temptation, scriptures tell us that Jesus was tempted in all way. So you see we don't have a savior who doesn't know what we go through, he knows exactly what we go through and what we are tempted with but the difference is that he was able to overcome them and triumph over the temptation where we fail. In his death, he took on the sin that we commit and paid the price for us. He became the substitution for us before God. In his death and in his resurrection he enabled grace to be bestowed on us. It's free, it can't be bought with any amount of money, it can't be earned by doing your best good. This gift is given freely to those who would only accept it. Grace basically means that you didn't earn it, but it's free and it enable us to take on the perfection of Christ because of his sacrifice and resurrection so why God sees us, he doesn't see our sin and imperfection, he sees Jesus instead who became good for us. Now we have to accept grace, grace can't be given if you don't accept it. To accept grace is to accept Jesus as your lord and savior in order to die to ourselves and to become a new creation in him. In your family time this week, talk about grace and what it means for our lives. Go over the fall of man in the first few chapters of Genesis and talk about the promise given by God after the fall. Really talk about what is so amazing about grace and why we need it through Jesus.